FIRE EMBLEM: The Healer's Replacement
by Dshuck2119
Summary: A dying Rhys somehow manages to travel to another world. While there, he recruits Hanna, a girl with multiple disabilities, to become the Greil Mercenaries healer. When his life fades away, Hanna has no way home. What happens next to this sheltered girl...will change a continent forever.
1. Chapter 1: A Staff and A Death

FIRE EMBLEM: HEALER'S REPLACEMENT

 _This is another of those lovely, half-brained ideas of mine…but I think you might like it. This is a story inspired by the fan-fiction_ Fire Emblem: Path of Wyverns. _(Written by Blue Wyvern Rider; I checked his last update and he wasn't doing so hot, so I'm sending my best wishes his way. Hope things get better and you get back to writing soon, Blue Wyvern Rider._ )

 _I do not own anything from Fire Emblem._

Chapter One: A Staff and A Death

I stepped off the bus from my sheltered workshop job, grabbing the handles on my walker and turning to my driver.

"I will see you tomorrow morning, Hanna!" he said cheerily, as he always did.

"Yeah, you too!" I replied. He got into the bus and left, and I went up the porch ramp and into the house. It was a cold December day, but not so cold that I needed gloves. After unlocking the door and going inside, my big orange cat, Rambo, met me in the middle of the kitchen floor.

" _Mommy,"_ he said with his facial expression. " _You have left me waiting all day…and you are_ late!" He approached me, rubbing his face against my knee. _"You know I do NOT like it when you make me wait for my treats and attention sessions!_ "

He then walked me into the next room, where a bookshelf of treats was waiting for him. "Which one, Bosy?" I asked, reaching for the chicken-flavored ones. He got up on his hind paws, pawing at the container just as his "brother", Gunner, bolted from the bedroom.

" _MOMMY!"_ the gray furball seemed to cry with his expression, jumping to his own hind legs, pawing the container as if wanting to open it himself. " _Open de treats! Gimme treats! Gimme treats NOW!"_

"Okay, okay, okay!" I cried, spilling a big pile of the treats on the floor and letting the eating machines go to town. I went to the computer to check my e-mails, debating a question that had bugged me for a long time: What did my future hold?

It was a question to which I seemed to have few answers. I was a student at the local community college, training to become an administrative assistant. I had been working factory jobs to make my way ever since I had graduated from high school with top honors. I had trained in advocacy and joined a human rights group for a short time. I should have had the whole world opening up in front of me…but there were a couple of elephants in my way.

And those elephants had ugly names: cerebral palsy, autism, and my lack of ability to drive. I sighed as I sat in the chair; why did people think that just because I had disabilities, I had to be wrapped in bubble wrap, sheltered and protected from even falling? Why did the government think they had to control my money, and bar me from receiving services if I didn't let them? Worse yet, what gave _them_ the right to stick their nose in my life?

I knew the answer: they didn't know me. They didn't believe in me – in fact, very few people really believed in me. I went through the e-mails, most of them being junk…when I heard a loud clatter at the door. I was startled; was someone there?

I hopped out of the chair and moved as quickly as I could to the door. Peering through the screen, I saw…a white bundle lying on the porch. I was able to discern that it was a person, because a pale hand was clamped around a funny-looking rod. The person tried to pull himself or herself up, but it was evident they were having a lot of trouble. I opened the door, closing it quickly behind me so the boys wouldn't escape. I knew it may or may not have been safe, but I couldn't just leave the individual lying there.

He (or she) needed help.

I knelt beside the individual and found it was a man – an orange-haired man with red eyes. His face was pale, and his breathing labored. He looked ill, and deathly so. He turned his eyes up to me.

"Help…me." he gasped out.

"Sir, I know you need help. I'm going to go back in and get my phone, and I'll call 911 for you. You need-"

"No!" he gasped out weakly. "Can't…save me. You…must replace…me. Take…this staff…go to…Greil."

 _"Greil?"_ I mused to myself. Did he mean…Greil from the Greil Mercenaries?"

"Take…it, now!" he said, grabbing for my hand. Before I could move to stop him, my hand was on the base of the staff…and in a flash of light, the scenery changed around us. A moment ago, we were on my mom's porch…now, we were on the ground in front of a large fort. I recognized it almost immediately…the fort of the Greil Mercenaries.

Whether I liked the situation or not, I was now stuck in _Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance_. This was one of my dad's favorite videogames – but it wasn't a good place for someone like me.

And I didn't know how I was supposed to get back home. "Rhys," I said, knowing who had brought me here. "I want to go back home. I don't want to be here."

The man was barely conscious now, but he knew what I was saying. "Please," he begged, a tear in his eye. "Take…my…place. Greil needs-"

"Rhys?" a sharp, crisp female voice said. Suddenly, a tall, red-haired woman in full armor – Titania – appeared, sitting almost opposite me over Rhys's now dying body. She seemed curious at first – but one look at him and she knew something was horribly, horribly wrong.

"You, get off him!" she snapped at me, examining him. "No, no, no, Rhys, please don't leave us. We need…NO!"

The deputy commander of the Greil Mercenaries descended into loud sobs, loud enough for perhaps the whole complex to hear. I grabbed onto the staff, desperate for it to activate a second time and take me away from this place.

I wasn't supposed to be here. I couldn't be here – I had so much to do back home! There was no way I survive a war here. Tears were suddenly in my eyes as a sensory overload took over.

This was too much to handle. Suddenly, however, Titania had her arms around me.

"Shhh…I don't know how you got here, but I can make this okay, I swear," she said. "It's alright; please calm down-"

"NO, IT IS NOT ALRIGHT!" I screamed. I honestly wanted to hit her, wanted to hit Rhys for taking me away from home as some kind of sick dying wish joke. Titania kept hugging me, running her hand through my hair, tying to be Mom at a time when it may or may not be okay.

"Breathe, miss, please just breathe," Titania begged. "We can make this okay; I promise. Whatever you were taken from, we can do just as good if not better. It's going to be okay, just breathe."

I tried to breathe – tried to realize what had happened. I would never see my parents, sister, friends, or cats again. Every possession I owned, save the clothes on my back, was now gone.

I tried to wrap my head around the fact – and couldn't. I grabbed the staff a second time – why didn't it work before?

"It's broken, honey," Titania replied. "It won't work."

I screamed out loud, in rage and confusion. That…I had no words for the piece of human pond scum that was Rhys. I might be able to forgive him…in ten thousand years from now…but if he hadn't already been dead, I would have killed him. Only Titania's hug kept me from completely turning into a ballistic animal.

Finally, I quieted down…and I looked up to see Greil (aka Gawain) standing over us.

"Titania…what in the _world_ is going on here?" he asked, dumbfounded.

"Rhys…he's dead," Titania said. "His illness…it must have been far worse than what the doctors said."

"Curses and blast!" Greil said. He then looked at the staff, and another profane bout of swear words left his lips. "That…that staff…he must have made it himself," he finally said. "And…Titania, who is that?"

"I don't know…but I think he dragged this poor girl off from wherever he went…to be his replacement," Titania said. "Honey…will you talk to us, please? We mean you no harm…we just want to know who you are, so we can help you."

I couldn't speak, so I just nodded.

It took thirty minutes of Titania and Greil just talking me down, saying over and over how sorry they were that they couldn't help me. "Please, forgive us," Greil finally said. "If we knew what Rhys would do…he must have known he was dying, there's no other explanation…we would have done all in our power to stop him."

"I know…I know," I replied. Harsh, hateful reality was setting in – and it hurt as badly as finding out I'd been condemned to Hades. "I just wanted to help."

"We did, too," Greil said. I had to hand it to this man…he was like my dad, only stronger and calmer. "Now, would you tell us your name?"

"Hanna," I replied. "I'm Hanna…and I have brain trouble, so that's why I freaked out so bad. My brain and legs don't work right."

Greil cursed again. "What in the world was he thinking? Did he really lose his mind?"

"Greil…we have to do something for Hanna, there's no other way," Titania said. "If we don't somehow permit her to take Rhys's place…she'll be out in the streets as a beggar. No one will take her if what she said is true."

"I know…but I'm worried that she won't be much good unless some kind of arrangement is made for her. I saw how she walked, Titania – she's a sitting duck unless she's guarded."

"Rhys was the same way."

"I don't want her getting killed!"

"Neither do I, Greil – this is a death trap that Rhys has set, either by accident or otherwise!" Titania said. "But…I think we should ask her. We need to know if this is the kind of life she wants."

Greil cleared his throat. "Hanna…we can't take you back to where you came from…but we're willing to make you an offer. If you would…can you take up our fallen friend's staff, and serve as our healer? I promise you'll have good pay, and a good place to sleep, and good food on the table."

It was my turn to ask questions. "Can you…put up with me?" I asked. "Can you deal with my emotions – my issues? The doctors…they couldn't fix what was wrong with me back home, and I'm sure your doctors can't either. I'm not going to be what you normally deal with…but can you try?"

"We will try," Greil said. "We're the Greil Mercenaries – we can take on any challenge, big or small. Don't worry, Hanna…we need your help now. Rhys is dead – and we can't go without a healer. We need you."

"So be it."

Greil took me by the hand and lead me into the mess hall, where Oscar, Boyd, Rolf, Ike, and Mist were sitting at the tables, crying. Ike had just been made a new mercenary, but that had now been overshadowed by the sudden tragedy.

"Everyone, please meet our new healer, Hanna." he said, acting as a true commander.

Every eye in the room turned to me, and they came up to me, hugging me and saying how sorry they were about the situation. Ike, Greil's son, took my hand.

"It's gonna be okay," he said. "Just hold on, Hanna."

"Hanna…has…what is it you said?"

"I have brain damage," I replied. "My legs don't work that well, but I believe I can complete the task of healer. I'm mad at Rhys, but-"

"We understand your anger," Boyd replied. "Blimey, if it was _me_ that was taken from my home and dumped in some foreign place, I'd be mad too!"

"So would I." Oscar replied.

"What that all means…is that Hanna doesn't function like we do, or think as we do," Greil said. "She's a baby that's been dumped in the deep end of the pool – so please, try to be understanding."

"We will." They all replied.

With a smile, Greil gave me Rhys's old Heal staff and a vulnerary. "Welcome to the Greil Mercenaries!"


	2. Chapter 2: Proving Ground

Chapter 2 – Proving Ground

For the next two days, I got what you would call "the third degree." Everyone was asking me questions, wondering what I needed, if I was okay, where I was from…it was a never-ending stream of questions, all the time. However…I knew why. To them, I was alien. Foreign.

I quickly found myself forming a bond with Greil, who reminded me so much of my Dad that I constantly found myself calling him…well, Dad.

"I'm not your father, Hanna," he chided me the first night.

"My parents have been divorced for a long time – I hardly see my dad. He shows up about once a month…and that's it."

"That's no way to live!" he cried. I quickly found out that divorces were pretty much anathema to the Tellian way of life – you got married and stayed married, that was it.

"Well…my dad started out looking like a good man," I explained. "When I was younger…that's not the way I want to put it. What I want to say is…that for many years, I didn't understand a lot about the real world. I lived in a fantasy world because reality seemed too cold to stomach. As I got older…started to come out of it…I began to learn who people were. Nobody was happy in the situation, and it had to change…even if it hurt."

"Well, sunshine, reality is gonna come up and hit you hard between the eyes," Greil said. "We'll 'adapt and overcome,' as you say, as much as we can – but in the end, it's up to _you_ to chart your own course."

"I…wouldn't have it any other way," I replied. "You don't know…how long I've wanted to have my own way in life…cut a path that _I_ wanted for myself…not the path that was the only way out of a situation. Not a path where there was no other real choice. I want a life where I not only have things I have to do…but times when I can make my own choices, as well.

"As mercenaries, our lives _are_ lives made up of choices, sunshine," Greil told me. Then, he paused. "Why…did you get so upset that first day?"

"Oh…that?" I replied. "My…brain damage…has caused me to not like change that much. It's…something I've had to overcome, and sometimes still gives me problems, but…when you take everything a person has ever known from them, switching it out with a foreign world where everybody's a bunch of strangers…wouldn't _you_ act out a bit?"

"Well, yeah," he said. "Somebody took me away from my kids, told me I couldn't see them ever again, you can bet I'm gonna be throwing one hell of a fit."

The others…well, I don't think anybody knew what to think of me at first. Titania kept trying to act like my mother, making sure all my clothes fit, trying to teach me how to cook Tellian food (with the help of Oscar; Mist was a terrible cook). Meanwhile, Ike, Boyd, and Rolf…for some reason, they all watched me like hawks, scared to death I would fall and hurt myself, or trying to do things for me.

However…my third day in Tellius was the day I broke the ice. I was not permitted to participate in the battle of Caldea on my second day, as I was still too emotionally wired and needed staff practice. However, the next day…destiny called my number.

It started out like any normal day…I was called upon to make breakfast (while Oscar hovered over me like a nervous ninny), and Titania struggled to show me how to mend a shirt. However…a message soon came, one that sent the whole compound into an uproar:

Rolf and Mist, while out gathering wildflowers, had been kidnapped. I knew why – I had watched the whole cutscene in the game. However…this time, it was all real. Everyone was angry, even Oscar…and nothing in the universe could have kept Ike from flying out after Mist. Boyd soon followed.

"Oh, come on! Don't think you can just ignore the deputy commander's orders!" Oscar yelled, preparing to leave.

"Oscar, wait!" I said, grabbing Rhys's old things.

"What is it, Hanna?"

"I…I need to go with you. Let me…let me hitch a ride on your horse, and go to the battle."

Oscar looked at me like I'd shot him in between the legs. "Hanna, you can't! You'll get hurt, and then what would Greil do to me?"

"It'll hurt him twice as badly to lose his kids. Yes, he calls me sunshine, but I think he's trying to make this easier on me. Oscar…I have to take my place as the only staff-wielder in this troupe. I'll never get anywhere if I don't try."

Oscar sighed, his expression hard to read. "Fine. Just…whatever you do, don't die. Greil would kill me if you did."

We made our way to the bandit hole, I riding sidesaddle on Oscar's horse. When Boyd saw me, he looked really annoyed.

"What's Sunny doing here?"

"Why is everyone calling me sunshine?" I asked, annoyed at the sudden repetition of the nickname Greil gave me. However, nobody was into answering my question. Banter was exchanged between the kidnapper, Ikanau, and Ike…and the next thing I knew, we were surrounded by bandits.

It was my birth into a life of war.

My job – not dying – suddenly got extremely complicated. Thankfully, the boys were always watching me, showing me when to move by way of hand motions, and yelling at me when I needed to stop. I didn't get much experience – I was what was called a level 1 "healer," a special class for someone who could use a staff, but was not allied with the religious order of Ashera.

And that was okay – I would _never_ worship the "goddess" of Tellius anyway. Within about a half-hour of starting the fracas, it was over with all of us alive. _Then,_ as Titania approached, my real work got underway – healing a battered Ike and Oscar.

"Thank you, Hanna." Ike said.

"Why in the world…are people calling me sunshine?" I asked.

"Well…Rhys's death left us with a gloomy cloud," Ike explained. "When you came, you became the sunshine that chased the clouds away."

Titania yelled at us for defying orders – but she had a special reaming in store for me.

"Hanna! What were you thinking?" she yelled. "You have almost no experience with that staff! You could have been killed!"

"I couldn't leave them alone, Titania."

We made it to the shack…and then we got ambushed by another bandit dummy who almost got away with killing Mist…right before Shinon, the Greil Mercenary archer, put an arrow right between his eyes. The kill sickened me, but I put my hand over my mouth to keep from vomiting. I listened to the banter…but then, Shinon and his partner-in-crime, Gatrie, approached me.

"So…they call you Sunshine," Shinon said. "Whatever possessed Greil…to take a chance on a whelp like you?"

"I'd rather do this than beg." I replied.

"True." Shinon replied. "But…they said you were…"

"Do _not_ say that word!" Titania snapped.

"Do you honestly think…I'm that way, Shinon? Intellectually impaired?"

Shinon paused, as if he'd been stopped up by Titania. "You can be honest with me, Shinon," I replied. "It's not the first time someone's been called the r-word, it won't be the last."

"You don't seem stupid," Shinon said. "I think you're nuts, jumping out into a battle with no experience, but…if you're willing to die, I won't stop you."

"Boss already said that's not allowed." I replied.

Gatrie gave Shinon a smack. "Greil told me that this girl you're calling stupid has received education that the royals would get, if not better – and succeeded! Is that true, Hanna?"

"Yes…if clerical experience is taught to royals." I replied.

"Well, I guess you might just end up managing the money then," Shinon said with a tiny smile. "Make sure I get paid first – and paid well."

…

Later that night, I was getting ready for bed…when Greil poked his head into my room. "Sunshine?"

"Yeah?"

"Am I…interrupting?"

"No."

He came in, sitting beside me on the bed. "You don't mind my nickname for you, do you?"

"No…I just didn't get it, is all."

"You were…extremely reckless today," he said. "You could have been killed."

"The others needed me, Greil. Where would they be…if I didn't do my job and take my place as the healer's replacement?" I asked. I then shuddered a bit.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm…not used to seeing all that blood, that carnage," I said. "A few times…I actually wanted to throw up."

"Well, that's why I call you Sunshine, Hanna," Greil replied. "Weak as you are, you are the sunshine that drives the clouds of death away from me and my men. And tomorrow…you, Oscar, and Boyd are coming on a journey with me. Make sure you're ready to go at my call."

"Yes, sir."


	3. Chapter 3: Enmeshed in War

Chapter 3 – Enmeshed in War

During the business Oscar, Dad, myself, and Boyd were called to, I finally managed to gain the experience I needed to become a level 2 healer. Dad, for his part, was extremely impressed.

"See, sunshine?" he said. "You _can_ do this! This isn't all that hard for you."

"The hardest part of my job is actually going to be staying alive." I remarked.

"Indeed."

"Hey, Hanna, don't you worry your wild head about it!" Boyd remarked. "My axe'll always keep you safe and sound."

"And my lance will always clean up any stuff Boyd doesn't get." Oscar added.

We came back to the fort late that night…and before I went to bed, Mist came into my room.

"Hanna?" she asked. "Are you still awake?"

"Yeah. What's up?"

The young sister of Ike strolled into the room…carrying something familiar. I recognized it, almost at once, as the stupid staff that got me into this mess in the first place. I barely recalled what it looked like in the drama of my coming here…but now, I saw it for what it was. It actually looked a bit more like a club than an actual staff…with massive blue crystals on it from the head of the staff to the tip. The top of it had a large grouping of crystals, and the whole thing…was radiating with powerful energy.

"This staff…Titania said it was broken." I said.

"Yeah," she replied. "It wasn't glowing. I went to throw it away today…but it just started glowing all of a sudden, like it was alive. Rhys died because of this stupid thing; you should have it."

"Okay…the more arms, the merrier, I suppose."

"Hanna?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you teach me…how to use a staff?"

I grabbed my glasses from my bedside table. "I can…but you better swear to God and all the angels in Heaven you don't do anything stupid. Ike would butcher me like a worthless traitor if you did."

Mist seemed confused at my use of language. "God is the Deity I serve and worship…and I am horrible at it."

"Okay."

…

I woke up before dawn the next day to go to the latrine. Toileting was a hard business – it made Earth plumbing Heaven to say the least. When I got done, I decided to walk around for a bit, trying to swallow everything that happened to me the last three or four days. As I made my way toward the main entrance…I heard a knock at the door.

I went to open the heavy door, and a man a little taller than me met my gaze. "Who are you?" Soren, the wind mage, replied. "You don't belong…"

"I'm Hanna, healer for the Greil Mercenaries."

"Rhys is the healer for the Greil Mercenaries – not you, ma'am."

"Rhys is dead. I took his place."

Soren's face, already pale, looked horrified – a strange look for him. "How could-?" he began. "He-He just had a fever, nothing more…"

"That's what's weird," I said. "They did an autopsy…or what you guys would call one…on him before they buried him. I heard…he somehow got an extremely nasty burn wound across his chest."

It was true. My first full day here, Greil had hired a doctor to examine Rhys's body…and it appeared his death had been hastened by a massive burn wound, cut diagonally across his chest. "Almost the kind a sword would make," the doctor had said. "I've never seen anything like it."

"A sword…that burns and cauterizes flesh?" Titania said. "It must be a powerful relic."

"Never heard of such a thing, Titania," Greil had said. "And that doesn't explain how he wound up traveling to an entirely different _planet_ from his own, recruiting a healer in the process. I think Rhys's death…is all too peculiar."

"It also means that…like it or not, Rhys was murdered."

Soren's voice cut into my flashback. "Where is he buried?"

"At the edge of the forest, beneath an oak. He has no headstone yet."

"I see," he said. "I need to go out and pay my last respects. Crimea and Daein…,"

"They're at war; I know."

Soren gave me a look that said I knew too much, but I had played the videogame, so I knew what was coming. "I…I can lead you out to the spot, if you like."

"Would you?" he asked.

"Yes."

Soren and I began walking to the site as the first rays of dawn touched the sky…but halfway there, he stopped. "You said your name was Hanna, right?"

"Yes."

"Why do you keep dragging your foot?"

I told him of my condition, and Soren looked at me as if I was out of my mind. "I know Rhys was weak in constitution…but I personally believe Greil has traded a broken pot for a shattered one."

"Soren, I don't care what you think of me," I snapped. "I may be no better a "sub-human" laguz to you…but I'd rather be out here working than out on the roadside begging and in rags. I have a job, I have a roof over my head, and I have food on my plate. You'll have to kill me to be rid of me."

Soren looked taken aback. "No, no, no – I never said you were a sub-human! I just…what I meant to say was that Greil should have given your hiring more thought. This life is not an easy one."

"I don't _have_ a good alternative, Soren," I replied. "No one would hire someone like me – Greil told me that. I'll take this over begging, as I said before."

"I see."

I sat through the meeting in the strategy room, barely listening to Titania and Soren's argument of whether or not to assist Crimea in their war against Daein. Personally…I felt no loyalties to either nation, but I was absolutely _disgusted_ at Daein. The horrors they committed…would shake the world forever after.

And further cemented the fact that I could never go home. Ike, who Greil was training to take his place as Commander, was sent toward Melior, along with Titania, Gatrie, Shinon, Soren, and myself.

"Oscar, I like that little trick you've been doing with Hanna," Greil said. "Titania, if either you or Oscar go out to battle, let Hanna ride side-saddle."

"I would prefer it if she rode with _me,_ " Titania snapped. "She scares me."

"Mom!" I called in mock frustration.

"Hanna, you _always_ go into situations that could get you killed!" Titania protested. "Even with that weird "Prayer" ability you have, you still can't heal yourself!"

It was true. On my mission with Greil, it was discovered I had an ability called "Prayer." It was weird…it acted like a panacea, able to remove status ailments and heal a small amount of HP to any of my allies in the field, anywhere. Even better, it gave me slightly more experience than a Heal staff, allowing me to gain 20 points of experience compared to 17 with my staff. (Not to mention, it didn't wear down my staff, which I loved – I was a _major_ penny-pincher.)

As we left to go to Melior, Greil took me aside. "Hanna…I talked with Soren privately this morning. How…well, I wanted to get your opinion on this war."

"The only thing I know for sure," I said. "is the fact that I will be a conquered slave to Daein. As far as I know, both Crimea and Daein have the same opinion on people like me: the only thing I'm fit for is to beg. I'm staying right here."

"You're too good for a life of begging," Greil said sternly. "You blew in here like a summer storm, and despite the fact that you didn't want to be here, you took up Rhys's mantle and have worn it proudly. I won't find a healer as determined, stubborn, brave, and selfless as you for fifty miles. I'm not letting you go."

"Good."

"Hey, Sunshine, before you go…" he continued, reaching in his pocket and producing a scroll. "Take this Nihil scroll and equip it if you can. It'll protect you from other people's abilities.

"Thank you, Dad."

"You're welcome, Sunshine."

…

I remember that battlefield – the battlefield on our way to Melior – like it was yesterday. I don't want to recall it in detail…it was excessively gory. I tried not to look at the dead bodies…tried to ignore the smell of crimson gore…tried to ignore the screams of pain from both sides. But…they haunt me even today in my sleep.

On that battlefield, I had one mission and one mission only: stay alive. I remembered ducking in and out of bushes, using Prayer as often as I could to avoid the enemy. I began to love my strange ability – it permitted me to have an influence all across the battlefield, allowing me to stay far away from enemies. This was in spite of the fact that Ike and my wounded allies kept pushing me _toward_ the enemy, where I didn't want to be.

By the end of the battle, I was shaking. "Hanna?" Ike finally asked me after he finished checking everyone over. "Are you okay? You're shaking."

"Oh?" I said. "Uh…yeah. At least it's over."

"No, you're not, wild child," Shinon said. "You've been hit."

I turned – to finally notice an archer had hit me in the shoulder. "Blast…that one may have actually been my fault," the archer grimaced. "I couldn't see you, running in and out of those bushes like a blasted maniac, healing everyone you could find on your way to greatness."

"All that calling Ike a whelp," Gatrie said, "and you up and hit Sunshine? _Major_ junior move, Shinon!"

"Shinon, Greil'll kill you!"

"I know, I know,"

"Oohhh," a stranger's voice called.

"That," I gasped out. "That's…Princess Elincia!"

"Princess…who?" Ike asked. "Here, Hanna, hold still…"

I screamed as Ike yanked the arrow out of my arm. Thankfully, he managed to pull it out cleanly, and he helped me locate the Princess so I could heal her…right before I managed to pass out from blood loss, of all things.

Hey, at least I was now at level 4.

"CURSES AND BLAST BE ON YOU, SHINON!" Greil roared later that night, ripping me out of my coma. "HOW DARE YOU!"

"I couldn't see her for all those bushes!" Shinon protested. "She was moving like a maniac, even though she can hardly walk very well. Every time I turned around, she was healing somebody!"

"YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN PAYING MORE ATTENTION, YOU BLASTED DOLT!" Greil roared back. "GET TO YOUR QUARTERS!"

I sat up, still feeling a little dizzy.

"Oh, you're awake!" a new voice called. I turned to see Elincia Ridell Crimea combing her long green hair back into its standard ponytail. She was indeed beautiful…but I was annoyed for absolutely no reason.

"Why is it that sunny personalities always piss me off so bad?" I groaned, my shoulder still throbbing.

"Hanna? Are you okay?"

"I've been hit with an arrow, Greil's bellowing like a chimney stove, and my head hurts; ya think I'm okay, Your Highness?"

Elincia paused. "No, you are not; I'll get you some bread and milk." She got up – and just as soon as she went to the door, Greil was in her face.

"Is she awake?" Greil said hastily.

"My lord Greil…you woke her up, and she's rather grumpy."

"Oh…," he said, his voice now much more subdued as he started rubbing my forehead. "I'm sorry, Sunshine."

"My lord…," Elincia asked. "I have a question for you."

"Shoot."

"Why…do you call this girl "Sunshine," but do not give nicknames to Ike and Mist?"

"Elincia…Hanna has no one in this world," Greil said. "She came to us all alone, against her free will. She…really doesn't want to be here, and she's gone through bad things already…and things are only going to get worse."

"Daein…," I said. "If they're not here already, they will be in a few hours. They're coming to capture and kill Elincia…and they'll send the rest of us to prison camps – or worse."

Greil and Elincia gasped. "Hanna…is this true?" Greil wondered.

"Yes. What time is it?"

"Six-thirty." Greil said.

"We don't have much time. I don't know how much time we have, but we don't have much."

"Don't panic, Hanna," the foreman said. "I'll put the men in ambush mode. For now, you lie here and rest. I already have a plan in mind."


	4. Chapter 4: The Foiled Plan

CHAPTER 4 – The Foiled Plan

Dakova's men, sent to hunt down Princess Elincia Crimea, had no idea what was going to happen to them as they approached. They thought they had the Greil Mercenaries cornered, thought that they would be like pigs to the slaughter.

When they approached the fortress, however…one of their soldiers suddenly fell to the ground. The other men began looking around them, suddenly spooked.

"Keep yourselves together, men!" Dakova yelled. "These mercenaries are nothing but rats. I'm even told they replaced their healer with an invalid madwoman!"

The men howled with laughter…but then, a voice cut in.

"You Daein dogs won't be laughing long…the healer of the Greil Mercenaries will never let the sun go down on us!"

"Greil," I said, sitting up from my bed and gathering my things for yet another battle. "Did you guys all make your decision?"

"Yes," Greil replied. "We're escorting the princess to Gallia."

"Good."

"I assume that means you are in favor of the decision?"

"Yes, Dad, I am."

Greil looked around, seemingly trying to put together words. "Hanna…I…I guess I want to tell you I'm sorry again. Sorry that you're now stuck in a war in which you have no business or interest. I know you really don't care about Crimea and Daein…don't care about any of our mess…but I must ask you again: will you remain?"

"What kind of cock-eyed question are you asking me?"

"I…I don't follow."

I grabbed the Staff of Blue Stones – the last thing I needed to pack – and threw it in my bag. "Greil, you know full well I've got no place to go. It doesn't matter who rules anywhere – to them, I'm still disabled scum that does nothing but waste time and money. Where you go, I go. Where you fight, I heal. Where this company dies, I die there too – and that's where I want to be buried. This world has no place for me – so I'll stay right here beside you."

Greil groaned. "Girl, how I wish to the goddess you were wrong!"

"It's true – even though I'll never worship her. Come on, let's get going before Ike and the others get too deep into this party. There's experience to be had – and I want it."

Thanks to the fact that we weren't holed up like trapped rats inside the fortress, fighting Daein was only slightly less stressful. Elincia, Rolf, and Mist were still inside the fort, so it still had to be protected – but Dakova's forces had lost the trump card of surprise, for which we were grateful.

I spent a lot of the battle, surprisingly enough, near Ike. "Watch out, Hanna," he had told me. "Even with that ability to heal anyone on the battlefield, they could still overrun you, especially with their archers."

"My God will protect me."

"Your…god?" Ike said. "You…don't worship Ashera?"

"What, is that a bad thing?"

"No – but I've never heard of any other gods, save a dark god."

"Well, you're missing out!"

A solider tried to get close to me, but Ike managed to kill him, with help from Titania. "Jeez, Mom," I snapped. "Do you _have_ to be so determined to mow down everybody in sight? Weaklings need experience, you know!"

"I _am_ a little scratched, so I don't think _you_ need to worry about experience. Cripe, you have just as much experience as Ike does!"

It was true. Ike was a level 6 ranger, and I was about to make level six myself. I was now able to use a Mend staff, even though I hadn't found one yet. I was looking forward to gaining a new class, one that would allow me to defend myself. Being completely unprotected, to put it mildly, really sucked.

But then again…would I _really_ have the guts to kill? Did I have what it took…to be someone helping to create corpses, as well as try to fix them?

I didn't know. But it was a question I was going to have to answer, and fast.

Toward the end of the brief skirmish, Ike, Soren, Titania and myself got dangerously close to Dakova. Titania, in typical experience-hoarding fashion (it was a miracle Soren was a level four mage and the same with Boyd at level five), scored an opening blow on Dakova, but it was not enough to kill him. In addition, the general left a nasty gash across Titania's chest – lucky I was there – and I managed to heal her as Ike weakened him down, thus promoting myself to level 6 at last. With only a couple hit points left, Soren, miraculously enough, finished him. About ten minutes later, the horde of Daein fled. Once again, no one was dead – and Greil was barking out orders.

"Hanna, I'm going to have you help me pull essential documents from the library. Everything else we burn."

"Very well."

We spent about the next twenty minutes in the library, putting the needed documents together in a neat stack and preparing bonfire fuel from the rest of the documents. "Sunshine?" he finally asked as we finished.

"Yeah?"

"Why did you call yourself sub-human the other day?"

"How did you know that?"

"You made Soren very upset with that comment, and Shinon didn't take it well either," Greil said. "In their minds, they feel you putting yourself on par with the laguz is an insult to yourself."

"Well then, what am I?" I asked. "Am I beorc – no, that's not right. Perhaps I should be…human. Yes, that's what I'll be. Human."

Greil sighed. "That's only trading one slur for another!"

"Greil, people are cruel. Advocating for myself is an absolute joke – believe me, I've tried the whole self-advocacy schtick and it doesn't work. People either want to hide you from the entire world or ignore you. Where I'm from, people with disabilities are usually given no expectations, no hope, and future. They usually get passed around from local program to local program, many given no real chance to improve their lives…working only to have money to spend on their needs, and that's even supplemented by the government. I've…" I paused, knowing everything I said just left Greil with a blank look on his face.

"So…people where you're from…are they ruled by a king?"

"In my country, no. We have what's called democratic government, where the people rule. We, not kings and queens, decide what the government can and cannot do. Recently, though…some of our leaders have gone against the rule of law. We have a new leader now…but those who oppose him would do anything to destroy him."

"Sounds like grounds for future anarchy."

"Nothing I can do about it now."

Greil looked like he wanted to ask me more…but knew time was of the essence and said nothing.


	5. Chapter 5: The Way to Gallia

CHAPTER 5 – The Way to Gallia

All night and into the next morning, we fled Crimea on our way to Gallia, I riding on the back of Titania's horse. "I don't think you can do all that walking very well, Hanna," Titania told me. "We need you in top condition."

"Very well." I replied.

As we continued on our journey (Gatrie and Mist both complaining of the heat), Shinon managed to come close enough to Titania's horse to talk to me. "Hey, Sunny," he snapped at me. "You think you're like the sub-humans now?"

"That wasn't the point I was trying to make, Shinon," I explained. "You know what I was trying to say…that I would be looked on as even less than a laguz in this world. That to the people here…someone like me is even less than scum."

"Blast it, Hanna, that's not true!" Titania, Soren and Shinon all practically yelled at me.

"I know it isn't already!" I shot back. "The problem is that everyone else doesn't think the way you do – especially not our enemy, or the laguz of Gallia."

"Well, I think you have a few lessons to teach those sub-human freaks, don't you, Sunny?" Shinon smiled. "You holding up in the heat?"

"Yeah…kind of," I explained. "Just not the ones you're thinking of."

Suddenly…my bag, which was carrying the Staff of Blue Stones…got warm. Very, very warm. "Whoa!"

Titania snapped her head around. "Hanna, your eyes!"

 _"Use me, I beg of you."_ I heard a muffled voice say through the leather of my bag. Seconds later, the bag had cooled back down.

"Hanna…are you alright?" Titania asked.

"Yeah, Mom, why?"

"Your eyes…they turned as blue as the stones in that staff you carry around," Titania said. "That's not you."

"I don't think we can worry about that now." I replied.

…

Deeper in the forest of Gallia, standing next to Daein Four Rider, Petrine, Ena felt herself go very faint.

"Ena, what in blazes is the matter with you!" Petrine snapped angrily. She valued the experience of her tactician…but this sudden change in her health was not welcome, not when she needed to capture the Princess of Crimea.

"General, I…I'm sorry…but the mercenary company has a strange power in their ranks," Ena replied, staggering to remain on her feet. "A terrible power, one never seen before on this continent."

"Hmmn…a power never before seen on Tellius?" Petrine said. "Is it a person, or a weapon?"

"I…I don't know," Ena replied. "But Dakova confirmed the rumor of the imbecile in their ranks. I believe the person actually has intelligence…she has to if she's fighting in a mercenary company…but she has limited physical strength."

"A female invalid?" Petrine asked. "Very well. So they're not totally stupid…they're just adding another weakling to their ranks. Excellent; that'll make them all the easier to mow down!"

…

The order to assume combat positions came like a shot of cold water to the face, but I felt more ready for battle than ever before. I still didn't like combat, and didn't think I ever would…but I knew what was coming. I was getting used to it.

Shinon, Gatrie, and Greil all went one way to distract the Daein soldiers, while I stayed with Ike, Titania and the others to help Princess Elincia get to Gallia. However, before we split up, Greil said something that hit me in the heart and stung me in the eyes.

"Listen up!" he called out. "This will probably prove to be the biggest fight this company's faced. Remember–you've got only one life. I don't want any of you dying on me. In times like these, it matters not what our blood ties are. We are family. If you don't want to cause your family any grief, then live! Ike will be commanding the main force. Titania, you're his support. All right, let's move out! See you all in Gallia!"

With that, the trio left – and we were on our own. Within minutes, however, as we crossed the bridge, we were surrounded by the soldiers of Daein…and my bag heated up again.

" _Use me!"_ the staff demanded.

"Oh, okay, fine! Just shut up!"

"Hanna, what are you doing?" Titania asked.

"Don't worry about it; we have to fight!" I cried, jumping off Titania and grabbing the Staff as the battle began. In the early going, it had gone just the same as the fight the night before – Ike and Oscar would shield me from oncoming attackers, and as my allies took abuse, I would use Prayer to heal them.

"Hanna?" Ike finally asked me as he knocked down a solider.

"Yeah?"

"I wanted you to know…you're an amazing young healer. I can't believe…that you would take this situation and turn it around like you have."

"I'm doing it because I have – Ike, look out!"

Almost without warning, one of the Daein soldiers shoved himself between me and Ike. His black spear glittered in the sunlight, thirsty for blood. "I'll have me an imbecile on my blade yet!" the soldier leered.

The Staff of Blue Stones was in my hand…and I knew if I didn't do something, I was going to join Rhys. I raised the weapon…and instantly, a shot of blue lightning flew out of the staff, electrocuting the cavalryman. It didn't quite kill him…but it gave Ike just enough time to shove his blade into the idiot's chest, doing what I could not.

"How did you DO that!" Ike yelled.

"I don't know!"

"Well, if you can do that, you fight by my side – _not_ behind my back!"

And with those words, I joined Ike as a soldier. Together, we stood side by side, he actually passing me an elixir as the battle progressed. I must admit, at the moment, I was finding Ike _very_ attractive – even though he was almost eight years younger than me (I was 23, and he 16). With bolts of lightning and slashes from Ike's Regal Sword, not to mention the great support we got from the rest of the team, Emil was a piece of cake, despite the fact that Oscar actually landed the killing shot. It was alright; he needed the experience anyway.

Soon, we rejoined Rolf, Mist, and Elincia. The whole time, however, I could sense Ike's fear for the rest of the team. Shinon was foolish enough to call it weakness – but I knew better.

The Greil Mercenaries were a family, just like my family had been. We did not always agree on everything, but we had each other…and we defended each other. You messed with one of us…and you would have the rest of the batch hounding you to the graveyard.

"Hanna…" Titania gasped. "Don't you _ever_ -"

"Titania," Ike chided. "Hanna showed me she can fight. I NEED fighters – bad."

"But we also need healers!" Titania protested. "We almost lost Soren again!"

"She can do both – I need her up front."

I sighed – I was a level 8 healer, and Ike had made sure I got a Seraph Robe, but my defensive abilities stank.

I guessed I was going to have to do both.

"If that's the case," I protested. "Mist can be a healer!"

"No way." Ike said flatly. "I won't have it. My sister isn't going on the battlefield – period. Let's get to Father and the others."


	6. Chapter 6: Moment of Reflection

Chapter 6 – Moment of Reflection

Another battle was over…but unlike so many other days, our job was not yet done. Ike summoned Titania, Soren, and I to his side, desperately worried about the fates of his father, Gatrie, and Shinon…and I honestly admit, I wasn't listening to half of the conversation. My mind was elsewhere…practically on another planet.

My mind was back on Earth – somewhere I was almost certain that I personally would never be again. I wondered what my parents were doing, what my sister was doing – what everyone around me was doing. They were probably searching for me; shoot, they probably had half the planet and every law enforcement agency you could think of looking for me.

And, sad to say, Rhys had done his job so perfectly that no one on Earth would ever know where I had gone – if that was what he had intended to do. I remembered my first day, when I traded in my dirty pink coat, black pants, and green "I woke up like this" Christmas sweater for white healer's robes.

 _"Rhys would never think of hurting a flea,"_ Titania had told me as she laughed at the silly Christmas sweater and examined the Earth-made clothes. Most everyone had laughed at the picture of the elf lying on a snowflake and tangled in Christmas lights, although it embarrassed me to watch them all laugh. When I was among them that first day, I'd felt like a circus freak that missed the show. " _I'm sure he had a reason for doing what he did – he probably got himself into such a bad situation that he knew was going to get him killed, and he was trying to take care of us."_

 _"Don't you think he would have had just a half-second more time before he died to think of me, too?"_ I asked. My mind went over those first couple days, fuming in anger at Rhys at what he had done to me without thinking. He had destroyed my entire life – took away all that I had held dear, right down to the last computer key.

He had stripped away all the technology that had made my life easier to manage – even my walker. I bemoaned the loss of this – even though I could walk on my own, a walker provided the safety and stability I needed to move across the rough terrain with ease. Now I was more dependent on others than ever – forced to rely on my own physical abilities more than ever.

And I hated it. Greil, however, had a different view of the thing.

" _No man can depend on himself alone, Sunshine,"_ he told me. " _Here, in the Greil Mercenaries, we are a family. Families must depend on each other, or else they fall apart. Hanna, you must be willing to depend on us…and we on you, even though we don't really know who you are or how to deal with you."_

I must admit, I liked Greil…but I hated the last phrase that came out of his mouth. " _How to deal with you."_ The phrase…it sounded like he was saying, _"We like you now, and we need you now, but we just don't think you're going to make it in Tellius. When all this is over, we're going to put you in a quiet, faraway place where we never have to deal with you again."_

But what could I say? To them, I was someone that was a "problem," and that they were only putting a temporary bandage on it. When my time of use was up, they were going to enlist a more permanent fix – whether I liked it or not.

But then…that was before this war broke out. That was before all of our lives had been upended. There was no telling whether or not I was going to still be the person that I was before all of this began.

Or…if I would even still be alive. I didn't know why Rhys had done what he had done…but his murder and why I was here was all going to have to take a back seat.

At least…for now.

"Hanna!" Ike yelled. "Focus!"

"Oh, yes, sir!"

"Ike, you don't need to yell at her; she was sitting up here the whole time!" Titania called.

"I thought she was going to fall off!"

"I noticed she was leaning; I would have held her up had she started to fall."

"Mom, give him a break, okay?" I replied. "He's a sixteen-year-old doing a job meant for someone twice his age."

"I'm seventeen, actually." Ike replied.

"Oops!" I said. "I didn't know – I was just guessing."

Ike didn't answer me this time. "They're not here, either."

Soren didn't waste a second in speaking up. "Ike, pursuing them any farther may be dangerous. I think it would be best if we returned to Gallia for now. It's possible the commander may have followed another road into Gallia. It's something we should consider."

Ike sighed. "You're right. Getting killed looking for them would waste everything they accomplished by breaking away. I guess all we can do is trust that they're well and withdraw."

Titania suddenly interrupted. "Ike, there's a fort over there. Just now, for a moment only...I thought I saw someone. Shall we investigate?"

Ike's eyes lit up. "What? Really? Yes, let's go take a look."

Worms sank into the pit of my stomach. "No, Ike, we need to go back. This is a trap."

Soren snapped his head to look at me. "Are you certain, Hanna?"

"Yes."

"We can't just not leave them there to die if they're in there!" Ike protested.

"Ike, don't be brash," Titania replied. "Hanna's intelligence gave us the element of surprise when we fled. It would be unwise for us to not trust her now."

Ike huffed. "Well, let's take a quick look around. If we don't find anything here, we'll head back to Gallia."

I wanted to scream at Ike for being so stupid, but I forcibly bit down my words and went in. Soren's red eyes flitted all across the building.

"It seems as though this place has been abandoned for a long time." he sai.

Titania was a bit more observant. "There's no one here…Hm. I could've sworn I saw a silhouette, but…I guess it was a trick of the light."

"Grab you're weapons – they're here!" I called out.

"Well, well, well," the soldier called out. "I guess the imbecile is smarter than she looks. Surround them!"

" _Here we go again_


End file.
